515:. He writes that "The beginning will certainly horrify, as newlyweds John and Linda ... take an unnecessarily long trip to Bourbon Street in New Orleans and watch a seemingly endless string of performers ... all to pad the running time by a full twenty minutes." Otherwise, 'there's noting remotely scary" about the film, including the "green zombie makeup over face and hands," which "shows some decay." Jonas is perhaps an early version of what academic film historian Peter Dendle calls the "new-style zombie that would come into its own increasingly in the 60s: the visibly rotting cadaver" which "clearly" violated "some unspoken taboo against portraying human cadavers decomposing."
480:-level thespian efforts, this would be instantly forgettable." McKinney also notes the "wooden acting," but attributes it to the "principle actors" being "novices and nonprofessionals. The ones with even a handful of credits are actors who served with Mahon in other pictures." For example, Davis and McKay appear together in Mahon's science fiction film
410:. Both films were released in 1961, but it is "hard to know which one officially hit theaters first. Before the era of simultaneous wide releases, a few prints would make their way across the country to unimpressed audiences, and which full color zombie you saw first would simply have depended on where you lived."
246:
John and Linda go to the crypt and find Jonas's empty tomb. Zombie Jonas comes in and is again unfazed when John shoots him. Monica rushes into the crypt, screaming that Jonas must get back into his tomb because the sun is rising. The police arrive and in shooting at Jonas, kill Monica. Jonas starts
466:
magazine, in the review in its issue of 3 April 1961, said that the "sizable audience" for voodoo and horror films "meant a waiting market for this latest though moderately entertaining effort ... None of the actors will mean much, although it is a foregone conclusion that the horror addicts aren't
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was apparently shown at least stateside. In
America, it is believed to have been exhibited only in the southern part of the country and most likely only at drive-in theaters, where it "served as a time filler" as the second feature on a double bill, when "the young people had more to do than watch
242:
Back at the house, Linda discovers that Bella has gone missing. When she and John find her body, John phones the police. Monica realizes that the wrong girl is dead and in a new rite tells Jonas once more to kill Linda. John gives Linda his pistol, then leaves to break up the rite. Jonas enters the
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girl he was to marry and shortly afterwards became mortally ill. He says that no one knows what Jonas died from, but Monica, who has entered the crypt, says that Jonas's death "came from a power stronger than any of your stupid religions have ever known"‚a voodoo curse placed on Jonas by the Creole
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At the rite, Monica again summons zombie Jonas and commands him to "kill the girl" to prevent John from inheriting the plantation and thereby ending her voodoo practice. But Jonas doesn't know that there are two girls—Linda and Bella—and he kills Bella. He can't find Linda because she and John are
234:
John and Monica later discuss John's visit. John says that their grandfather's will passes
Kenilworth to him as soon as he marries. Monica issues a veiled threat, asking what would happen if Linda died before John took legal possession. After dinner, Monica goes to another voodoo rite. Bella calls
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and
British critic Phil Hardy are even more-to-the-point. Warren writes that Mahon's "budgets were among the lowest for theatrical films, and the results reflected this, as well as the haste and lack of care that went into the film's making." Hardy, who refers to Mahon as a "nudie-specialist" and
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Later reviews of the film have been almost entirely negative. Film critic Jamie
Russell writes that "Belly dancers, voodoo superstition and a honeymoon on a New Orleans plantation pad out this threadbare and thoroughly stilted early 1960s effort," adding that "If it were not for the jaw-dropping
205:
During a voodoo rite at
Kenilworth, a Louisiana plantation, Monica Carlton (Monica Davis), mistress of the plantation, raises her brother Jonas (Clyde Kelly) from the dead. She commands him to kill "a woman who is coming to the plantation." The woman is Linda Carlton (Linda Ormond), who has just
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the plantation workers in the film are
African-American—Kay notes that "The only thing that might qualify as disturbing is the negative stereotypes of black men. They all come across as frightening, ritual-performing, zombie-raising threats to the more 'cultured' leads," all of whom are white.
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a rating of "fair" on its poor-to-excellent spectrum in its "Review Digest" weekly feature. The pressbook for the movie encouraged theater owners to lure patrons by advertising that they were giving away "Free voodoo dolls with real hair with every adult ticket. Put a hex on your friends."
370:. He defines a regional film as one that is "(a) filmed outside of the general professional and geographical confines of Hollywood, (b) produced independently, and (c) made with a cast and crew made up primarily of residents of the states in which the film was shot."
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The next morning, they learn that Bella's car can't be fixed for another day, so she must spend a second night at
Kenilworth. John shows Linda around the plantation, including the slave quarters, where Monica's voodoo rites are now held, and the family
423:
some miserable collection of color and movement on the screen." Film critic Glenn Kay notes that "After its appropriately short run at drive-in theaters, prints of the film began to vanish. Until very recently it was thought to be a
243:
house, hides when he hears John coming down the stairs, then goes up for Linda. She shoots him without effect. But then he suddenly walks away without her as John has successfully stopped the rite.
455:, which meant that the film was considered "more suitable for adults." The DVD, released in 2005, was given a 12-certification, suggesting that its content is suitable for those age 12 and over.
437:. Mexican distribution was handled by Peliculas Agrasanchez S.A., although at an unknown date. For individual home viewing, widescreen DVDs of the film were distributed in the US by
250:
John explains to the police what has happened. A hearse arrives, the police leave, and John plants a "For Sale" sign outside
Kenilworth as he and Linda drive away.
467:
overly concerned with known thespian values." The actors "plod dutifully enough along under producer Barry Mahon's rather uninspired direction." The magazine gave
433:
The film was distributed to North
American theaters by Mardi Gras Productions in 1961. Internationally, it was distributed theatrically in the UK during 1962 by
182:. The narrative follows two cousins—one a businessman (McKay), the other a woman who practices voodoo (Davis)—who each seek control of their family's Louisiana
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from
Germany" with an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. It is significantly one of the first two zombie movies to be filmed in color, the other being the British
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Albright points out a lack of originality in the movie. "The plot of this film is basically lifted from the old black-cast exploitation quickie
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married Monica's cousin John Carlton (John McKay) and who will arrive for their honeymoon right after John shows her the swinging nightspots of
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Keep Watching the Skies! American Science Fiction Movies of the Fifties, the 21st Century Edition
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The theatrical runtime was 71 minutes, but this was reduced to 55 minutes for its DVD release.
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to attack the officers, but vanishes in a puff of smoke when the sunlight hits him.
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her "kooky" and John tells her that "No intelligent person believes in voodoo."
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The film's significance is that it is a regional film, one of the first two
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Regional Horror Films, 1958-1990: A State-by-State Guide with Interviews
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was granted an X-certificate for theatrical exhibition in the UK by the
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before its rediscovery and issuance on DVD, 41 years after it was made.
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718:. Jefferson NC: McFarland & Co. Inc. pp. 705–706, 866–867.
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was filmed on location in New Orleans, Louisiana by the independent
214:. On their way to Kenilworth, they find exotic dancer Bella Bella (
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427:, but then it was rediscovered and is now available on DVD ...."
619:. Jefferson NC: McFarland & Co. Inc. pp. 2, 214.
386:. Little is known about the actors and production crew of
909:
Book of the Dead: The Complete History of Zombie Cinema
178:. It stars John McKay, Linda Ormond, Monica Davis and
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films to be filmed in color, and was thought to be a
972:. Jefferson NC: McFarland & Co. Inc. p. 5.
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1961 American independent horror film by Barry Mahon
537:"one of the first sex-movie tycoons," simply calls
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591:. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. pp. 37–38.
997:. NY: Harper & Row Publishers. p. 140.
665:A Gross of Zombies: Reviews of 144 Zombie Movies
911:. Surrey, England, UK: FAB Press. p. 248.
667:. Bloomington IN: AuthorHouse. pp. 26–27.
366:is a regional horror film, according to critic
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541:"abominably acted, scripted and directed."
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565:British Board of Film Classification
453:British Board of Film Classification
174:written, produced and directed by
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995:The Encyclopedia of Horror Movies
589:Zombie Movies: The Ultimate Guide
382:(1959), made in association with
1057:Fiction about Louisiana Voodoo
689:"History of Anamorphic Lenses"
295:as "The 500 Club" Proprietress
271:Monica Davis as Monica Carlton
1:
1102:English-language horror films
970:The Zombie Movie Encyclopedia
511:Kay is also unimpressed with
495:The Swap and How They Make It
1082:1960s English-language films
1097:Rediscovered American films
502:(1967), while McKay was in
400:and Ultrascope, a "form of
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1052:American independent films
344:Andrea Chase as Bridesmaid
315:as the Dixieland Jazz Band
993:Hardy, Phil, ed. (1986).
340:Richard Thomas Washington
1092:1960s rediscovered films
955:Internet Movie Data Base
937:Internet Movie Data Base
933:"Monica Davis Biography"
894:Zombo's Closet of Horror
765:Internet Movie Data Base
744:Internet Movie Data Base
615:Albright, Brian (2012).
532:American film historian
489:1,000 Shapes of a Female
354:Joe Burton as Joe Burton
907:Russell, Jamie (2005).
740:"Technical Information"
663:McKinney, Andy (2016).
435:Grand National Pictures
1077:Films set in Louisiana
968:Dendle, Peter (2001).
951:"John McKay Biography"
309:as the Night Club Band
167:) is a 1961 American
1062:American zombie films
786:Monthly Film Bulletin
714:Warren, Bill (2010).
645:Turner Classic Movies
439:Something Weird Video
407:Doctor Blood's Coffin
384:AB Svensk Filmidustri
1087:1960s American films
521:The Devil's Daughter
483:Rocket Attack U.S.A.
239:spying on the rite.
587:Kay, Glenn (2012).
313:Joe Jones Orchestra
307:The Joe Burton Trio
164:Blood of the Zombie
1072:Films set on farms
876:BoxOffice Magazine
858:BoxOffice Magazine
804:The Tell Tale Mind
1067:1961 horror films
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890:"Pressbook"
534:Bill Warren
498:(1965) and
443:Shriek Show
402:Cinemascope
349:Uncredited:
287:Lacey Kelly
275:Clyde Kelly
212:New Orleans
180:Clyde Kelly
176:Barry Mahon
172:horror film
169:independent
101:Alan Smiler
93:Mark Dennis
78:Clyde Kelly
51:Barry Mahon
45:Produced by
40:Barry Mahon
31:Barry Mahon
27:Directed by
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1041:Categories
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918:1903254337
641:"Overview"
545:References
359:Production
335:Alton Fobb
260:John McKay
184:plantation
134:71 minutes
68:John McKay
37:Written by
464:BoxOffice
459:Reception
445:in 2003.
425:lost film
321:Jean Wade
195:lost film
98:Edited by
508:(1959).
500:The Pill
492:(1963),
289:as Lacey
147:Language
62:Starring
478:Ed Wood
150:English
139:Country
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228:Creole
191:zombie
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254:Cast
201:Plot
118:1961
114:1961
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